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How to Uninstall a Printer on Mac

Category: How-To

Uninstalling a printer on Mac involves removing it from System Settings, clearing the print queue, and optionally removing the driver files.

Step 1: Remove from System Settings

  1. Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners (or System Preferences on older macOS)
  2. Select the printer you want to remove
  3. Click the minus (–) button at the bottom of the list
  4. Confirm removal

Step 2: Reset the Printing System (Removes All Printers)

If you want to remove all printers and start fresh:

  1. Right-click in the Printers list
  2. Select Reset printing system…
  3. Confirm — all printers, drivers, and print queues will be removed

Step 3: Remove Printer Driver Files

macOS stores printer drivers in specific folders. To fully remove a driver:

# Open Terminal and remove brand-specific PPD files
sudo rm -rf /Library/Printers/[BrandName]/
sudo rm -rf /Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/[printer.ppd]

Step 4: Remove Printer Software (Apps)

If you installed a companion app (HP Smart, Canon Utility, Epson Scan):

  1. Open Finder > Applications
  2. Drag the app to Trash
  3. Empty Trash

Step 5: Clear Printer Preferences

rm ~/Library/Preferences/org.cups.PrintingPrefs.plist

After removing, you can re-add a different printer or reinstall drivers fresh.